Operation Commence
I checked the time—exactly 11:00 a.m.—and immediately changed clothes before heading out.
The walk from home to Aju’s school took less than twenty minutes. If I carried out the plan I’d come up with, it would be around noon by the time I finished.
That was after classes ended for the morning, so it wouldn’t interfere with her studies. The damage to Aju should be minimal.
“Still… I wonder what’s going to happen to me after this. Eh, whatever. Doesn’t matter.”
What I was about to do was, honestly, nowhere near justified. There would definitely be consequences for me in some form or another.
But I didn’t care.
Because I’d already decided I wanted to do it.
“It’s not like I’ve ever been the type to think about the aftermath before acting anyway.”
I knew full well that not every problem in this world could be solved cleanly. That’s why you sometimes had to be ready to take a loss if you wanted to fix something.
So I’d made my resolve.
Even if it meant storming someone else’s school broadcast room and causing a scene.
I would accept whatever punishment came my way.
“The only problem is that I don’t want anyone else to get hurt because of this…”
There was one annoying factor. In this case, there was one other person—besides me—who would clearly suffer damage. I’d only seen the guy maybe twice, and I didn’t really know what kind of person he was, but…
I didn’t want to drag someone who cared about Aju into this without even giving him a heads-up.
“Oh, young man. You’re quite early today.”
When I arrived in front of the school, I ran into him. Just like always, the security guard grandpa was standing at the main gate of Aju’s school.
“Good morning, sir.”
“Hehe, yes. Have you been well?”
“Same as always.”
Standing in front of the person I was about to cause trouble for made things feel a little awkward. Still, I had to say it.
I didn’t want this kind-hearted old man smiling like that to get hurt without knowing anything.
“Sir, there’s something I need to ask you for… and something I need to apologize for.”
“Hm? That’s an odd thing to say. What’s this about?”
“First… please let me inside the school.”
“…”
The security guard kept his calm smile but fell silent. He simply stared at me.
…An indescribable pressure washed over me. I remembered this feeling. It was similar to the one I’d sensed from Eunhye right before our fight over Aju.
“And why would you want that?”
“…To cause a scene.”
“Pardon? Hehehe.”
The guard’s eyes widened slightly in surprise before he burst into loud laughter. Even so, that same oppressive aura remained, so I kept my guard up.
“Just one question. Why would you do something like that?”
“To give the bastards who’ve been making Aju’s life hell a taste of their own medicine.”
The security guard continued to stare at me. His eyes were deeper than any I’d ever seen—impossible to read.
And then…
“So what exactly are you apologizing to me for?”
“Because after you let me in… I’m going to cause an incident inside the school.”
“…Unexpected. I didn’t think you were the type to consider that part. Or perhaps that’s not it. The fact that Aju feels safe around you already tells me plenty about your character.”
“Sorry?”
The guard said something I couldn’t quite understand even though he’d spoken in Korean. When I reacted with confusion, he simply waved it off like it was nothing.
After that, he turned his head toward the school’s main building, gazing into the distance. The depth of emotion in his eyes was something a guy in his early twenties like me couldn’t even begin to measure.
“I’ve been watching over this school for a very long time. I’ve seen countless students pass through these gates. But among them, Aju possessed a special quality none of the others had.”
“Every morning when it was time for students to arrive, most of them would just walk right past me. But Aju always stopped right in front of me and greeted me properly. It was as if she wanted me to know that she saw me.”
“On top of that, I believe Aju was always paying close attention to the people around her. That’s probably why she was the kind of child who would approach someone who looked like they were struggling and offer them a helping hand.”
“One winter when it snowed, I was sweeping the walkway by myself. Aju brought me a pair of gloves. I still remember her asking if there was anything else she could help with.”
It was the first time I’d heard any of this. But even so… I could picture the scene perfectly in my head.
The Aju the security guard described was the same Aju I knew so well.
Having lost so many precious people at a young age, Aju had always been the type to pay careful attention to those around her. If someone was struggling, she helped. If someone was lonely, she stayed by their side. That was the kind-hearted girl I knew.
Because I knew that side of her… it only made me want this even more.
“But at some point, Aju stopped smiling. The number of friends around her gradually dwindled… and before long, seeing her alone started to feel normal.”
“…”
I listened to the security guard’s words in complete silence. I realized this man… probably felt the same way I did.
Yes. He felt the same.
“I was angry. The Aju I knew would never hurt anyone. For her to end up in a situation like that…”
“Yes. It was done intentionally by someone. And… the chances that Aju did anything wrong are extremely low. In fact, she didn’t do anything at all.”
“…It seems you know something about this.”
“I know the things you don’t, sir.”
“…”
After my reply, the security guard took off the cap he was wearing and walked over to me. I stood still as he placed the cap on my head.
“Wear this cap and put on the jacket from the security office. No one will think twice about seeing you inside the school then.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Hehe, why ask? I’m the one who should be sorry.”
“You haven’t done anything wrong. Anyway, I’ll borrow the cap and jacket.”
“…Yes. I’m counting on you.”
I bowed politely to the security guard, then followed his instructions. I put on the spare jacket from the security office and walked through the main gate. I’d visited this school several times before, but this was the first time I’d ever walked around the empty hallways while classes were in session.
“Let’s see… I was supposed to meet Daeho around here.”
I headed toward a secluded corner of the main building and looked around for Daeho, who I’d arranged to meet at this spot.
In fiction, whenever someone mentions a tiger, it usually shows up right on cue…
“Well, tigers are part of the cat family.”
“Never mind. More importantly, where’s the broadcast room?”
“Okay. What about you?”
“Nice. I’m looking forward to it.”
Daeho snorted at my words, then came closer and showed me the tracking device hanging around his neck.
“No one else saw that, right?”
“Haha, true. That’s exactly right.”
I reached out and removed only the chip containing the saved footage from Daeho’s collar. Once I plugged that chip into the USB adapter I’d brought, everything would be ready.
“Supplies secured.”
“Got it. Oh, and make sure Aju doesn’t catch you.”
“Fair enough.”
Since Daeho was technically an existence outside the law, no one would notice a strange cat hanging around anyway. I probably didn’t need to worry about that.
“We start at noon.”
The operation was about to begin. With the supplies secured, I needed to head to the broadcast room as Daeho had directed, while he went to his own assigned location.
By the way, Daeho’s role in this operation was extremely important. That role was…
Confinement.
“Think you can lure her successfully?”
The target was Choi Seung-a—the girl who had orchestrated Aju’s isolation. Trapping her was the most crucial part of Daeho’s mission.
This step was absolutely necessary for the operation. It was to prevent that bitch from doing anything to Aju while I was causing the commotion.
And… it would also let us gauge how the other students would react.
The only issue was timing.
“You have to pull it off between 11:50 and 12:00—right before lunch, when class ends. Don’t forget.”
“You already scouted the location, right?”
“Then we’re good.”
With that, we finished our short briefing. The current time was around 11:40. It was almost time to move.
“See you later, you kidnapper.”
“Hah.”
After exchanging one last joke right before the operation, we each headed toward our positions.
Now it was really… time to begin the operation.
---
After parting ways with Daeho, I casually entered the main building. Just as he’d said, I climbed the central staircase. Along the way I passed several students and teachers, but…
“Thanks for your hard work.”
“Yes, thank you.”
Maybe it was because I was wearing the security guard uniform. No one seemed the least bit suspicious of me.
Of course, the fact that I was acting naturally probably helped too.
“Let’s see… right hallway from here, right? Then…”
I climbed the stairs to the third floor without any trouble. The moment I reached the top, turned right down the hallway, and was about to head for the broadcast room—
“…Riha?”
“Ah.”
A familiar voice stopped me in my tracks.
Of all the damn timing…
“An Eunhye. Perfect timing, as always.”
“You… why are you here? And what the hell are you wearing?”
“Look, I get why you’re curious, but…”
There were about fifteen minutes left until the operation began.
And before I could even start… I’d run straight into the final boss.